DEPUTATION TO THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND. 55 



afforest between one and a half and two millions of acres. Of 

 that, Scotland will have to provide a large quota. The actual 

 work of afforestation will be done partly by the State, partly by 

 municipalities — I may say I think municipalities one of the most 

 hopeful means of afforestation — and partly by private enterprise ; 

 and the practical suggestions which I venture to lay before you 

 have in view all these methods of afforestation. 



"The three things that seem to be most urgent are as follows : — 

 First, the survey of the country in order that the best forest 

 sites may be selected. It is from the point of view of this 

 survey, perhaps more than any other, that it is desirable to have 

 one authority for the whole country, in its early stage, because, 

 if you have three authorities, the distribution of afforestation 

 between England, Scotland, and Ireland will be a very difficult 

 thing to settle. We feel that ought to be settled not on local 

 claims, but entirely with a view to finding the best sites, that 

 afforestation may be established with the least disturbance to 

 other interests. Looking to the position of things in Scotland 

 now, and the demand for a greater production of food — which 

 must be reconciled with forestry — one feels that the invasion 

 of sheep farms will be a much more difficult thing than it would 

 have been before the war. And, therefore, one of the points 

 that requires to be inquired into is — How much land now 

 devoted to deer forest could be utilised for this purpose? 



"Then another thing that seems to be an immediate 

 necessity is the training of men — men trained for Scottish forest 

 work having drifted away from this country — and the train- 

 ing of practical foresters. Our practical foresters in Scotland 

 are very good, but they do require some more definite training, 

 and it has been our misfortune in Scotland that there is no place 

 where they could be trained. The Crown is, unfortunately, not 

 in the possession of any woods of its own except the young 

 plantations of Inverliever. It is a most pathetic thing that we 

 should have a number of forest officers in Scotland, perhaps as 

 deeply versed in forestry as any in Europe, who have never had 

 any opportunity of conducting silvicultural operations." 



The Secretary for Scotland. — " Does not that point to the 

 desirability of having in your Forestry Authority, whether in 

 London or here, two sides — one administrative and one 

 practical ? " 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell. — " What I was rather driving at 



